The Weekend - Launching "The Promised Land"

Hi Five Oakers,

My oldest son and his wife just had a baby girl last night, Navy Noelle Williams. 

There's a lot of celebration in the family right now. Lois is there, so today we FaceTimed as she held Navy Noelle, and I just stared, commented on every face she made in her sleep, talked about how beautiful she is... I'll spare you any more details.

For all the joy a new life brings, new fears and worries also come into the picture. For a first-time mom and dad, fear of not measuring up as a parent sneaks in. The first time they watch the news again, they'll feel it differently. They'll sense the danger in a new way. And, thankfully, right now they have no idea how many new worries and fears they will face over this little one. 

These are, what you might call, good fears to have. But a friend was recently diagnosed with a serious cancer. She's not experienced that good kind of fear. Courage is hard to come by for her, and also for many of you who are facing significant challenges.

We're looking at Joshua 1 this weekend in our new series, The Promised Land. It's about fear and courage.

To everyone around him, Joshua was a courageous man.  And if put on the spot, if he had to be totally transparent, he would tend to agree with them. He was, quite simply, one of the most courageous men he knew because he trusted God more than anyone he knew. It's why he lived to see the day of the crossing into Jordan. It's why God picked him to lead.

But now, with Moses dead and God giving him orders directly--orders to lead Israel in conquering the Promised Land--he would have to also admit, he was very afraid. 

God knew it, of course. So three times God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. But that's not all he said. He spoke to Joshua's deepest fears.

Joshua's fears are our fears. What God tells Joshua he tells us as well. 

That's what we're exploring this weekend.

So make every effort to be with us this weekend.

Blessings, Pastor Henry

FYI

Tony Reinke on "Enjoy Your Possessions Before They Possess You"

I am convinced that one of the most important stewardship principles we can master is to enjoy God's good gifts to us as God's good gifts to us. The problem is when the gifts are the ends. But serving God's kingdom with what we have includes enjoying what we have. Here's an excerpt from Reinke's post at Desiring God:

I cannot own many of the greatest gifts God has given me. I do not own my wife; I do not own my kids; I don’t own my time, or the oceans, or the rain, or the sunshine, or the majestic mountain ranges — certainly not in any sense in which I own my minivan (my name is on the title).

The man who loves the ocean so much that he sells all that he has and buys a beachfront property with his own private sand and closes it off from others so that he can exclusively use it is the man whose joy will die by exclusivity. He cannot enjoy possessions because the possessions possess him.

On the other hand, the man who buys beachfront property in order to freely share that property with his friends and family will find his joy doubled. By his seaside generosity, this man will bless many others in great ways.

But perhaps the most blessed of all is the man who doesn’t need to own beachfront property at all. He has learned to enjoy every beach in the world for its sheer beauty. He is freed from the desire to enjoy only what he possesses. This seems to be the way Romans 1 pushes us to contemplate. To be truly human is to express a Godward gratitude in the delights of creation.

Michael Lukaszewski on "The Two People Every Organization Needs"

Brian Burquest (Executive Pastor) and I took a day offsite to evaluate our our "marriage" is going and how we can make it better. Okay, sounds weird, but we've been at this for a little over a year, working together as Senior and Executive Pastor, and we wanted to maximize our roles. At the end of the day we had a draft of the top three to five things each one of us needs to focus on so that our staff and our church can thrive. Things that not only go with our roles, but our strengths and gifts. We shared it with our executive team this week and I said something like, "Brian, if I had to do your list, I'd hate my life." He said, "I feel the same about yours!" So this post from Lukaszewski caught my attention. Here's an excerpt:

The visionary generates ideas, sees the big picture and provides the passion. He has a mental picture of the future in vivid color.  But it can be tough to stay focused, execute on anything that looks like details, and falls victim to too many ideas.  

The integrator beats the drum and makes sure the trains run on time.  They are steady, more detailed, and are often the voice of reason.  Integrators are managers who know how to get things done.  

...Every organization needs both.  It’s Yin and Yang – two forces seemingly opposed to each other but actually help each other as they interact. One without the other is doomed.  

Walt Disney (visionary) had his brother Roy (integrator).  John D. Rockefeller (visionary) had Henry M. Flagler (integrator).  Henry Ford (visionary) had James Couzens (integrator).  In each of those cases, it was the powerful combination, not just a great idea or not just daily execution, that led to success.

Bill Hybels on "Reduce Speed or Prepare for Impact"

The Willow Creek Association releases a weekly video excerpt of Bill Hybels teaching at pastor and leader gatherings. They call it 363GLS. Most are about 5 minutes long. Here's the latest on the danger of living life fast. If you want to link to it from your email, go here.